Last fall, I invited a delegation of state legislators to tour several of Northern Virginia’s major technology companies. At each site, company representatives impressed upon this delegation the importance of having a quality system of higher education in Virginia from the perspective of attracting companies to Virginia. The ability to equip our students with marketable skills is a major component of how we can continue to grow Virginia’s economy and bring high paying jobs to Virginia.

Virginia finds itself in a more competitive environment than ever before. Our competitors are international as well as domestic. While Virginia is recognized for its fiscal health in terms of maintaining a AAA rating, having a business friendly regulatory environment, and passing fiscally responsible budgets, Virginia cannot afford to remain complacent from an economic perspective.

This year the Virginia General Assembly is considering a $1.5 billion bond package for capital projects at our public universities and colleges. This bond package would need to be approved by the voters. Many of the capital projects focus on building or renovating educational facilities that focus on instruction in the sciences, technology development and engineering, as well as research and development in these fields.

As a member of the Higher Education Subcommittee on the House Committee on Appropriations, I have spent the past week meeting with Virginia’s public university and college presidents to discuss the bond referendum package. I have observed three consistent themes in these discussions.

First, our higher education institutions are making significant efforts to expand student enrollment and are engaging in innovating ways to create more capacity. Our public institutions are developing articulation agreements with one another so that students who graduate from a two-year college with a solid grade point average can matriculate to our four-year institutions. Likewise, our schools are developing innovative ways to instruct students through long-distance learning to eliminate geography as a barrier to equipping our students with necessary skills.

Second, Virginia recently has experienced significant success in attracting companies to Virginia because of our schools. For example, Rolls Royce relocated a major facility to Virginia after entering into an agreement with the engineering programs at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech to provide the company with a steady stream of engineers. Likewise, we were able to attract SRI to relocate to Virginia based on a research-based agreement with James Madison University. It is important to realize that when major companies relocate to Virginia, their suppliers often do as well, thus further strengthening our economy.

Third, other competitor states also recognize the need to invest in higher education for purposes of growing their economies. North Carolina recently passed a $3 billion bond package for higher education, and North Carolina, Maryland and Georgia, by way of example, make a relatively large investment in research and development at their public institutions.

The bond referendum package is one of the most important initiatives Virginia will consider this year. As we deliberate upon how best to make this capital investment, we must recognize that this investment is vital to sustaining and growing Virginia’s economy.